NJPW World

[tiger_rick]

Fuck off with the spoilers, lads, I'm waiting on JLM.

[JLM]

It's a good thing I watched the semis and the final in one go!

G1 Climax 35 Semi Finals

Yota Tsuji vs EVIL

Well, this was it. The final New Generation man in the top four of the G1. As much as I love Uemura, I'd say Tsuji is currently the most qualified of the bunch. Umino isn't the big match performer he needs to be, Uemura doesn't quite have the people, Narita is still mired in House of Torture nonsense and Oiwa is perhaps still too early in his post-excursion run. Tsuji isn't the finished article either, but for any of them to get there they need the opportunity! Okada won the G1 SIX MONTHS after returning from his excursion. They decided he was going to be the guy, they booked him like the guy and allowed him to be the guy. The never ending presentation of the current new crop as almost-the-guy does more damage to them with every passing defeat. It's baffling how unwilling they are to take a chance on any of them. 

So this match would be the latest indicator of Tsuji's standing, and the stars were so aligned for him to get it done. He was in the final last year, he beat Umino to show he's still that step ahead of his peers, he's up against the most hated man in New Japan and the ultimate villain of this year's G1. He also has a pre-existing knee injury to draw even more sympathy. This is the moment. 

For the first half of this match I allowed myself to believe it. EVIL jumping him at the bell was a great move, drawing sympathy for Tsuji from the first second of the match and making the whole thing about his ability to dig deep and fight back. He's doing it too! He refuses to tap on multiple submission attempts, he lands giant haymakers every so often to show that he's still in the fight, he survives multiple instances of House of Torture outside interference. He even survives the first ref bump!! He has a mini New Japan Avengers team to back him, and during the initial HOT clusterfuck beatdown they are able to help him fight them off. It should also be noted that Tsuji has the people here. They are chanting his name, they believe he can do it, they're 100% backing him.

Then the ref gets distracted in ridiculous fashion, HOT interfere AGAIN, Tsuji is apparently knocked out cold, EVIL locks in the Scorpion Deathlock and the ref stops it because Tsuji is unconscious. I saw some reports that this was a legit KO/concussion for Tsuji, but it felt like a work to me and he worked a tag match the following day, so I believe this was the planned finish.

The worst thing about this, aside from EVERYTHING, is that the crowd was so deflated. Not booing or hot at EVIL, just completely flat. Silent. They allowed themselves to believe that THIS time, at attempt number 19393932959, the hero might defeat the House of Torture, but of course not. Completely miserable result, and annoyingly this match was actually GOOD until the stock finish happened. EVIL and Tsuji had surprisingly great chemistry, the action was exciting, the initial little bits of HOT interference (grabbing a leg from ringside etc.) did actually build heat effectively. So  yeah, everything about this finish sucked. Killed the crowd, gave a good match a crappy ending, but most importantly highlighted yet again how little faith the bookers have in their next generation stars at a time when they simply HAVE to be backing them. What a load of shit. 

 

Konosuke Takeshita vs Zack Sabre Jr

Soooooo the only redeeming feature of the previous result is that it suddenly threw this one into big doubt. ZSJ vs EVIL doesn't make a great deal of sense as a final. ZSJ doesn't need to beat EVIL, he doesn't need to win the G1 two years in a row either, particularly when he's already the world champ. So yeah, as much as I am baffled and appalled by New Japan shitting the bed on Uemura, Tsuji and the rest for the 100th time, I did now believe that Takeshita would not only win this match, but likely the entire tournament!

This was very good, and they managed to top their first match in my opinion. I still have Shingo/Takeshita and Uemura/Oiwa ahead of it as my favourites of the tournament, but this was another cracker in a tournament that had plenty of them. 

The best thing about this match is how grueling a contest it was. ZSJ relentlessly trying to grind Takeshita down with his dazzling array of holds as he did in the first match, Takeshita trying to fire back with big bombs and big strikes, slightly hampered by the wear and tear to his limbs. I love watching Zack work, and his style does a great job of reining in Takeshita and allowing for a more slow burn build. The crowd was firmly behind Takeshita by the time his comeback started, and his fight back felt hard fought and well earned. Glorious strikes from both in this match, with ZSJ's penalty kicks in particular sounding incredible. Most memorable spot of the match was a legitimately terrifying avalanche Brainbuster/Screwdriver type thing from Takeshita. I'm not quite sure how this was done without permanently injuring Zack, but he appeared to be fine so I guess they nailed it? I dunno, it scared the hell out of me. 

Anyway, Takeshita fights through the pain and the submissions and being tied up like a pretzel repeatedly, hits the aforementioned horror-buster and follows up with the Raging Fire! The Alpha is going to the finals to save New Japan from EVIL! 

Despite how excited I've been to root for Takeshita during both this year's and last year's G1 tournaments, it does still feel bittersweet because I would have loved to see Uemura or Tsuji in this spot. Defeating EVIL in the finals would have been a monumental victory for either of those guys and it is immensely frustrating that they didn't take a chance on either of them. That said, getting to root for Takeshita in a G1 final he has every chance of winning is still a beautiful thing and one I did not expect at the start of this year's run! 

 

G1 35 Grand Final: Konosuke Takeshita vs EVIL

So despite all of my complaints about the booking, and that this being the final is beyond maddening, as a standalone spectacle this was magical. The crowd for this match was absolutely molten and, once Rocky Romero and some other helpers had cleared out House of Torture for the final time, the second half of this was incredible. The crowd dynamic as this went on was fascinating. Started as pro-Takeshita with maybe 25% pro-EVIL, stayed that way for much of the typical interference-filled nonsense of the first half. Takeshita also won them over with a spectacular deadlift suplex on the very large Don Fale.

However, once they HAD cleared out, EVIL showed so much fire and put in such a shift that it became 50/50 and eventually felt like it ended up 75% EVIL. There are a number of factors here. Part of it is Takeshita being an outsider and EVIL being a New Japan guy of course. Takeshita hasn't necessarily been portrayed as a babyface for the whole run either. Against Drilla Moloney he was rubbing the Gabe Kidd injury in his face, in his interviews he's openly said he's not one of the "I love New Japan the most" guys but rather that all of pro wrestling should unite under him. I see the logic in people saying he was put against EVIL here to stop him getting a heel reaction, but I don't necessarily think they're going for a white meat babyface response for him. Even last year when he WAS more babyface, the story for soooo many of his opponents was that they were defending New Japan from The Outsider. If anything, I think the value is in letting him be a full on heel outsider for the New Japan home grown guys to target. If Takeshita follows this up with the IWGP title win and then dominates, it would be yet another perfect set up for a Tsuji or whoever else to step up and be The Guy. 

That would of course require New Japan to give any of these poor guys the backing to be the guy though. The last thing I'll say about this bizarre ongoing little-brothering of their new gen potentials is that I see people saying New Japan have failed/struggled/not produced the stars to replace the people they've lost. I'd find that more unforgivable and understandable if it were true. What's maddening is that they have actively REFUSED to do so. That's why I'm so salty about it. Uemura, Umino, Tsuji, Narita, Oiwa... none of them are quite there yet, but man do they seem intent on making that a self fulfilling prophecy. 

Anyway, yeah, once the HOT guys had gone (highlighted by Zach Sabre Jr ankle locking Narita out of the ring and then all the way out of the arena without breaking the hold) this one hit fever pitch. EVIL can go when he wants to, Takeshita's only speed is "go", so this turned into high stakes, high drama rollercoaster backed by a truly rabid audience. Duelling chants a lot of the time in the BEST way, where they don't take turns to chant, but rather the passionate supporters of both guys are bellowing at the same time trying to drown the others out. Was also funny how on the nose the fans were about HOW they were reacting. EVIL stuck in Takeshita's chicken wing with all HOT members gone? Massive EVIL chants. Ren Narita runs back in? Boooooo. They were very obviously pleading with EVIL to show he is still a New Japan fighting spirit pure soul at heart, and any time he showed glimpses of that they were backing him to the hilt. Evil busting out the Nagata lock, the STF with Chono in the front row etc. also took on an cool double meaning in this environment, as doing it while cheating seemed to be spitting on the legacy of previous G1 winners, but it was also reminding the people that he is a New Japan Guy who has this history in his blood. 

This intense and ever-shifting reaction from the people made the whole thing gripping to watch, and they got a closing stretch worthy of their enthusiasm, as these two launched into a dazzling closing stretch of gigantic near falls and mind boggling feats of strength from Takeshita. 

I was of course delighted with the result, as Takeshita deserves to be sat at the top of a promotion even if it isn't AEW, though crazily enough doing a full on double turn with EVIL winning would have been a surprisingly awesome result on the night. Wouldn't have dreamt of saying that before the match, but that's how hot this match was.

 

So that was the G1! The Alpha wins! As I mentioned before, I am not as ecstatic about it as I would have been last year, and the booking is both puzzling and enraging, but I am still thrilled for him and very excited to see what he does next. Also as a whole this was a joyous viewing experience as it was last year. So many bangers, such beautiful in-ring story telling, gloriously earnest and red hot audience participation. If they had the booking to go with it I'd watch a lot more of this promotion for sure. 

Edited September 5, 2025 by JLM

[LaGoosh]

Excellent write ups as always JLM. What would you say were the best Takeshita matches of the tournament?

And is there somewhere I can watch them "easily" (if you know what I mean)?

[JLM]

An unexpected gem was his block match against The Great-O-Khan on Night 4 -23/07. Had no expectations for that one but it had me on the edge of my seat by the end.

My favourite match of his (and the tournament!) was definitely vs Shingo Takagi on Night 6  -  26.07.2025. Shingo having an uncharacteristically rough time of things, trying to shake off his self doubt and get his first win against the Alpha. 

Both matches with ZSJ were very good of course. ZSJ has to be top 5 in the world right now. 

First one was Night 8 - 30/07

Second was Night 18 -  18/08

His play off match against David Finlay was also a banger. Night 17 - 14/08/25. Finlay had a horrendous start to the tournament, then went on a 4 match winning streak at the end of the blocks to qualify out of nowhere, so he's locked into this ultra-dangerous "win or go home" mindset. This match is sloppy and chaotic in the best way, two guys who have gone through hell in the group stages, both running on fumes and fighting out of desperation.

Surprisingly the final vs EVIL was also pretty terrific. Can skip the first few minutes, but once they get down to business it's gripping stuff in front of a red hot crowd. Might lose a bit of impact when you know the finish though. 

Also I know it's not a Takeshita match, but I cannot recommend Yuya Uemura vs Royhei Oiwa  highly enough. Night 13 - 07/08/25. Outside of Takeshita/Shingo it was my favourite match of the tournament. Perfectly matched generational rivals in their first singles meeting, one faster, the other stronger, both the purest of pure technicians, both influenced by their respective learning excursions but ultimately trying to execute the same gameplan and achieve the same goal. Wristlock vs Headlock is the story of the match and I was captivated for the duration,

I don't have any sources other than the trusty old site people use to Watch Wrestling I'm afraid. 

 

 

 

[I Bent My Wookie]

King of Pro Wrestling was quality. For so many reasons.

No spoilers but definitely check it out.

[tiger_rick]

What a man.

[mim731]

https://www.njpw1972.com/610231

Well, that has certainly made me more interested in WK. 

 

[JLM]

MERRY SICKMAS one and all! G1 Season is upon us. The blocks are final, night 1 is this Saturday in Chicago, The Alpha is of course in the mix and ready to defend his crown. 
 

 

Block A:

Banger central in block A. A lot of rematches but very welcome ones. Takeshita/Shingo was on my shortlist for match of the year 2025. There’s no way they’re topping their last one but I they surprised me so much with how good it was that I’m excited for to see what they have next.
 

Tsuji vs Takeshita chapter 4. With the other musketeers not ascending, Takeshita is Tsuji’s generational rival and I just love the story of their parallel journeys. The young lion who NEEDS to be the ace of New Japan vs the alpha who sees New Japan as a stepping stone to becoming ace of the whole world. Again I cannot see how they top the ending to their third match with the Boston Crab finish but I am fascinated to see the next instalment, this time with Takeshita as the G1 defender and Tsuji as the world champ. 

Goto and Oleg are also incredibly tantalising rematches; Takeshita and Boltin Oleg is a guaranteed 12 minute slobberknocker that has never disappointed and now has its own considerable back story behind it. Singles outing round 4 now, with the big bear from Kazakhstan established as one of the few opponents who can out-bomb Takeshita and force him to change his gameplan.
 

Goto on the other hand is a masterful in ring story teller snd crafty veteran who has had two absolute belters with Takeshita, reining in some of Takeshita’s worst instincts and making the most out of the incredible tools he has. As viscerally satisfying as Takeshita swinging for the fences against a game opponent can be, some of my favourite moments of these G1 runs is when he’s positioned as the personification of time catching up with the veterans. Shingo visibly having his confidence knocked and having to get sneaky, Ishii trying to no sell Takeshita’s offense but not being able to hide how devastating it is, that stuff is magic to me and Goto understands it better than most. 

Takeshita vs Great O Khan was a surprise hit for me last year, so against the odds I am well up for seeing it again when it didn’t inspire me on paper at all the first time around.

It is definitely a safe line up, though with the roster as threadbare as it is I don’t think they have much choice. However, the way NJPW builds on previous matches and uses rematches to tell stories and build rivalries means I don’t find this nearly as disappointing as I would in another promotion. 
 

Lastly in this block I am beyond thrilled that Ryohei Oiwa is in there. His match with Uemura last year was so bloody delightful and another one of my favourite matches of the year. He’s just a proper wrassler. Burly and powerful, methodical and logical. Snug holds, beefy strikes, grinding down the head and neck to set up the big lariat. Has a great final gear but isn’t in a frantic rush to get there.  As a counter balance to all the rematches, the prospect of him against Takeshita, Tsuji, Goto and Oleg is very exciting indeed. I feel like there should be much more buzz around Oiwa than there is and would love for this to be a breakout tournament for him. 

Block A:

• Konosuke Takeshita
• Yota Tsuji
• SANADA
• Shingo Takagi
• Jake Lee
• Boltin Oleg
• Hirooki Goto
• Great O-Khan
• Yuto-Ice
• Ryohei Oiwa

Block B I am less excited about simply because my boy Yuya Uemura is in there but I have little faith in him getting anywhere. Newman, Wolf and Kidd are all big projects, ZSJ comfortably outranks him too. That said, a match between him and ZSJ will be a bit of a technical wrestling wet dream. I also love seeing him trying to ground and control a more nutty and wild opponent, and HENARE is ideal for that. 

Block B:

• Callum Newman
• Zack Sabre Jr.
• Shota Umino
• Yuya Uemura
• Ren Narita
• Drilla Moloney
• Gabe Kidd
• HENARE
• Aaron Wolf
• OSKAR

 

I’ll be covering all of Takeshita’s matches and probably a lot of other choice picks, especially from A block for the reasons outlined. 
 

PLEASE SPOILER TAG ANY RESULTS IN THIS THREAD! 
 

Thank you. 
 

Lastly @waters44 please post things about this here tournament. 

Edited July 6 by JLM

[JLM]

G! Climax 36 Night 1  11/07/26

Opening night in Chicago this year, outside of Japan for the first time in seven years. Definitely a city of sickos. They were lively but I was sad that they were colder on some of the guys I like than I hoped they would be. 

All tournament matches for night one, so this ended up being a long watch. The rest of the nights will be easier viewing as I can skip the undercard tags. 

Aaron Wolf vs Henare

Wolf won gold in Judo at the 2020 Olympics but has since retired from the sport, signing with New Japan as a pro wrestler in 2025. He had a great debut, throwing most of the House of Torture all about the place. Haven't seen much else of him and I enjoy Henare, so this escaped the wrath of the skip button. 
Wolf doesn't look completely natural yet with his timing but they kept this short and told a very simple story; Henare believing he can pummel a grappler into submission and Wolf out to prove him wrong. Wolf absorbed loads of punishment, HENARE gradually upped the intensity, Wolf persevered before unleashing all of his big judo throws and takedowns. A fine opener but nothing special. 

Ren Narita vs OSKAR

OSKAR and his partner Yuto-Ice both returned to New Japan from excursion last year and were a dominant and very highly rated tag team, capturing the tag titles and immediately impressing the fan base. They're a sort of Enzo and Cass type outfit, with a smaller ultra-energetic hype man in Ice and the slightly more serious giant in OSKAR. Both taking their first swing at a breakout singles run in this G1. 

OSKAR is 6"7 and reasonably well built but oddly still doesn't have a very imposing look. He does have good babyface fire and charisma about him though. He also sells remarkably well for a man his size. Funny heel/face dynamic to this as OSKAR is so much bigger but played the babyface in peril for most of the match because Narita is a scum bag. Again a nice simple story, Narita attacking before the bell and trying to wear down OSKAR's legs with cheap shots and a few different holds, the big man using his massive power and leverage advantage to stay in it. Another "OK" match, but OSKAR definitely has something with his ability to get people behind him. 

Yuto-Ice vs Great O Khan

Yuto-Ice is so silly but in a very infectious sort of way. It's funny seeing a Japanese pro wrestler doing a cringe-y white boy rapper gimmick and for me he nails the tone of it, recognising that it's very silly but also throwing himself into it wholeheartedly. The ring announcer dropping his usual bellow for the ring introduction is an amazing touch too, instead of "YUTOOOOOOOOH ICE-UUUUUUUH" it's "Yuto......... Aissssssssssssssssssss" semi-whispered like the Vanilla Ice song this gimmick owes so much to. What just tips it over the edge, though, is hearing Yuto shout "BOMBOCLAAT!" before delivering his signature running knee strike. 

Great O Khan... I love the gimmick, and at times he can be this brilliant and unpredictable agent of chaos. At other times he can be a bit of a plodding bore, and this was one of those times. This was carried by how over Yuto is. Brimming with charisma, great scrappy brawling and had the people in the palm of his hand. Excited to see him against a more game opponent.

Shota Umino vs Zack Sabre Jr.

Shota Umino has let me down so many times, but surely a 10th meeting against ZSJ can't fail? 5-4 to Umino in the series, Umino beating Zack every time they meet in a tournament, but ZSJ winning any time they've fought for a title.

Thirty seconds in Umino counters ZSJ's Bruce Lee neck snap move he does, escaping it in a flash because he's seen it so many times before. A few moments later ZSJ scores a knockdown with a really fast counter into a snapmare which catches Umino off guard, then quickly sneaks in the neck snap while Umino is still reeling. Love that sort of thing so much. This was better than the first couple of matches but nothing blow away. In fairness I don't think this one was ever intended to steal the show given its position on the card. ZSJ is in control, then he starts taking the piss too much and gets Umino fired up, so Zack goes up a gear to put him away. 

One thing I particularly love about ZSJ is how he sells when he's in control. Whenever he lands something big or there's a break in the action, he is constantly checking himself over to see how everything is moving. Trying to shake out/walk off the leg damage, checking his neck and lower back after landing a big sunset bomb from the top. He also has this great serious demeanour where he will get mad and shithouse when needed, but most of the time you can see he's actively trying to maintain his composure and stick to his very methodical gameplan. Such a joy to watch and the G1 is a perfect showcase for his style. Umino is still not there for me and I'm wondering if he ever will be. 

Yuya Uemura vs Callum Newman

Walker Stewart on commentary says "A lot of people are saying this right here is Yuya Uemura's year". Don't you fucking lie to me Walker. Nothing would make me happier but I'm not buying it for a second. I will be watching all of his matches and praying for a miracle though.

Uemura is the superior technician but Newman is willing to fight dirty. Crazy spot early on where Newman clears out a whole section of seats, sits Uemura down in the second row, then does a running flying dropkick over the first row and into the second. Can't imagine that was a fun landing for him but it did look fantastic. 

Newman has a shoulder injury and sells it well, but is enough of a dick to Uemura and the ref throughout the match that he remains firmly the heel. This was easily the best match of the four I've watched so far, with Newman bringing the fire and aggression out of Uemura leading to a very hot final five minutes. My favourite bit was Uemura clocking Newman with a very uncharacteristic headbutt, snapping out of his usual problem of fighting too clean for his own good. My least favourite part was Newman winning. 

It's just a little night one loss, it's still good, it's still good!

Boltin Oleg vs Ryohei Oiwa

OK now we're talking. The Bear vs The Grip. I haven't seen Oiwa since last year's G1, where he had one of my favourite matches of the tournament. This year he is all decked out in the TMDK orange and black, wears silly shades and has a new dye job on his mullet. I preferred the no frills look for him, but if this helps raise his profile then I'm all for it because he is a brilliant wrestler. 

Really good match here as expected. Oiwa is a big lad himself but he is clearly outmatched in raw power, so instead he relies on his technical skills and continuously wears down Oleg's arm for the whole match. Oleg has bursts of offense and lands big power moves, but Oiwa is able to maintain control and prevent Oleg gaining the runaway momentum that wins his matches. Oiwa was so good in this, bringing great fire and intensity, particularly towards the end when he was using his formidable grip to hang onto submissions despite Oleg's furious efforts to escape. Everything Oiwa does looks so snug and effective, I love watching him. If this year isn't Uemura's then I'd accept Oiwa having a breakout run as well. 

Konosuke Takeshita vs Yota Tsuji

Here we go then. Round 4 between these two. The G1 champ vs the World champ. These two are so funny together because they both have the same wrestling brain and benefit massively having a grown up in the match to help them shine. When it's both of them together they just want to eat ice cream for breakfast. The insistence on main events going over 20 minutes when it is counter to both of their styles always means it's two nutters who want a level headed foil just waiting for the time keepr to let them know they can go nuts. The first five minutes always resembles two guys coming up on mushrooms but trying to pretend they're not high. 

After the obligatory feeling out phase they get into the explosions portion of the match and they are very fun to watch exploding at one another. Some fun wrinkles in there too, with developing neat counters to the opponent's signature offense and throwing nods back to earlier in the series. This wasn't as good as their last one and I honestly don't seem them ever topping the Boston Crab finish for me, but it was still a hell of a scrap between two top bomb throwing enthusiasts. Highlight was a Gene Blaster attempt countered by a busaiku knee from Takeshita that looked and sounded so insane that Tsuji referenced it in his post match promo. Tsuji also busted out his new super finisher. I bloody love a super finisher, particularly when deployed to beat a rival like this who has already been hit by everything else in your arsenal. The new move is a super version of his Gene Blaster spear called the Fire Blaster. It hits the opponent side on rather than from the front, and as the spear hits he goes into a really violent looking corkscrew motion, so the move is a spear and a snap Saito suplex at the same time. Takeshita made it look utterly devastating. 

Pretty fun night one. I skipped three matches as it was a bit long, the undercard matches I watched were all fairly average, but the top three were all good to very good. No stone cold classics or must-watches just yet, but there is a long road ahead. 

Night One standings:

A Block:

Yota Tsuji – 2 points (1-0)
Jake Lee – 2 points (1-0)
Hirooki Goto – 2 points (1-0)
Yuto-Ice – 2 points (1-0)
Ryohei Oiwa – 2 points (1-0)
Konosuke Takeshita – 0 points (0-1)
SANADA – 0 points (0-1)
Shingo Takagi – 0 points (0-1)
Boltin Oleg – 0 points (0-1)
Great-O-Khan – 0 points (0-1)

B Block:

Callum Newman – 2 points (1-0)
Zack Sabre Jr. – 2 points (1-0)
Aaron Wolf – 2 points (1-0)
OSKAR – 2 points (1-0)
Drilla Moloney – 0 points (0-0)
Gabe Kidd – 0 points (0-0)
HENARE – 0 points (0-1)
Shota Umino – 0 points (0-1)
Yuya Uemura – 0 points (0-1)
Ren Narita – 0 points (0-1)

Edited July 30 by JLM

[JLM]

G1 36 Night 2 18/07/26

 

Konosuke Takeshita vs Jake Lee 

Jake Lee doing his Psycho Jester gimmick, Clown mask for the entrance, face paint, conducting the crowd and doing lots of big theatrical dodges and physical comedy. It's amusing schtick and he does it well, but Takeshita is not a fan. He knows Jake Lee from before his clowning days and does not want any clown shit, so he grabs a towel from ringside and wipes off all the paint. This brings back serious Jake Lee and he remembers he's a massive bloke and starts choke slamming and big knee smashing and stuff. This was only 8 minutes with a 100% nailed on outcome and they weren't going for match of the night, but Lee being forced out of his gimmick for a few minutes was a fun little twist that made it worth the watch.

 

Yutooo.......... Aissssssssssssssssss vs Boltin Oleg

Yuto won me over on night one with his silly gimmick but also his great scrappy brawling style that showed potential even against a sleepwalking Great O Khan. Boltin Oleg doesn't do phoned in performances so I thought I'd better watch this. Great back story to this match; Oleg won their previous encounter in under a minute during Yuto's young lion days, Since then Yuto has been on excursion, returned a new man, captured tag team gold and now has a chance to show Oleg how far he's come. 

This match was my favourite of the tournament up to this point. Oleg dominant at the start, mauling and manhandling and expecting the same easy ride he had last time. Yuto is a new man though, refusing to die, landing some of his outstanding strikes to score damage and sending Oleg into a blind rage by daring to make this into a real contest. Oleg is always at a minimum 9i for intensity but he was out of his mind here, ramming Yuto into the corner pads over and over and over, shoving the ref repeatedly when he tried to step in and check for a pulse. This abuse awakened the beast in Ice though, and he rallied to turn this into a blistering back and forth war.

I particularly loved the sequences where they were stand up striking, and instead of the played out turn-based-fore arm nonsense, it was an unhinged Oleg swinging wildly and Yuto bobbing and weaving and retaliating with high speed flurries of chops and slaps. This not only looked great but also told the story of the momentum shift in the match, with Yuto's doggedness, street smarts and striking prowess proving to be a credible match for Oleg's raw destructive power. 

The finish was also brilliant. It started with Yuto surviving Oleg's two biggest shots in the Kamikaza and the Verdict, sending Oleg's rage off the charts. Massive powerbomb from Oleg, Ice kicked out AGAIN. Oleg visibly out of ideas, so he did the Jericho/Lesnar multiple powerbombs repeatedly until Yuto passed out and the ref was forced to stop the fight. What a perfect finish, Oleg looking more monstrous than ever and Yuto refusing to die until his body gave out. 

The post match was fantastic as well, Oleg eventually coming to his senses, still in disbelief at what it too to put Ice down and also feeling a bit guilty about it. He shakes Ice's hand while our hero is still unconscious in the middle of the ring. He may not be on Oleg's level as a singles guy just yet but he is a LOT closer than last time and has earned his respect. Final lovely touch was his giant tag team partner OSKAR leaving his guest commentary spot to carry his fallen buddy to the back. 

What a superb bit of business. Oleg loses nothing and ultimately scores a convincing win, Ice gains everything despite the loss. If a side project of this G1 is to make Yuto Ice a singles star then this is the way to start. 

 

Ryohei Oiwa vs Shingo Takagi

Similar story to the last match. Oiwa had his first post-excursion chance at a singles title against Takagi a year ago and got destroyed. He has also never beaten Shingo in a singles match. I am loving this late-career version of Takagi too, doing all of the veteran stuff, trying to prove he can still hang against the young guns and acting as the measuring stick for their improvement. 

This was loads of fun, though for me it was Shingo's performance that made it. Last year he had a classic with Takeshita built around the story of his rather uncharacteristic self doubt when faced with ?The Alpha. Here it's the polar opposite. He could not be any MORE confident against Oiwa and he is keen to show it, catching him with all of his tricks, mugging it up for the crowd, no selling Oiwa's offense and challenging him to do better. It's excellent stuff, and then as Oiwa grows into the match we see Shingo get more and more serious, ultimately forced to throw out every big weapon in his playbook one after another to finally put the young man down. They didn't need to do a post match handshake or pat on the back; Shingo being forced to stop fucking around was the handshake. 

Didn't quite top Ice vs Oleg for me but this was very good as well. Oh, and one other nice touch in this match was Oiwa busting out the Mongolian Chop as the nod to Tenzan on commentary at ring side. There have been a few of these references already, with multiple Tenzan suplexes being used and wrestlers looking to him for approval. He's retiring on the 15th of August but I hope he keeps his legendary cyber-mullet forever. 

 

Yota Tsuji vs HIrooki Goto

High hopes for this one. I enjoy Tsuji but he is definitely at his best when someone else can lead. Tsuji can do the action sequences and the big ending but doesn't do the journey so well, Goto is an extraordinary in ring story teller. He also, crucially, gives Tsuji a clear role to play. Despite his crowd pleasing offense I think Tsuji is a natural heel, and seeing the performance Goto got out of him here really cemented it for me. 

Goto waited 22 years to win the IWGP title and when he finally got his hands on it he was willing to defend it against anyone, anywhere, any time, because that's what being the champ is about. Tsuji got there in 7, has declared himself Mr. New Japan and is extremely selective about who is allowed to challenge. This makes Goto sick. Tsuji is trying to put New Japan on his back, prove it's the best promotion in the world and rebuild the prestige of its world title, but Goto is forever the people's champion. They will never love him like they do Goto and he knows it. So in this match he is dealing with a lack of respect from a veteran he's trying to surpass *and* from the entire audience. This, naturally, makes Tsuji sick. 

The mutual disdain is palpable from the opening bell here and it makes for a cracking atmosphere. Wonderful tone set at the start as the crowd chants "Goto-oh". Tsuji responds with the signature Tsuji smile, which might as well be a double middle finger to the people, positively dripping with resentment. He wrestles this whole match with  a humongous chip on his shoulder, everything he does designed to make a statement and/or punish Goto as much as possible. Tsuji's overhand chops are BRUTAL and the ones he landed on Goto here were unreal. However, the real statement move was trying to beat Goto with the Boston Crab. It's a deep, deep Boston Crab and he has it on for ages as well, fuelled by the Goto chants every bit as  much as the man trying to make the ropes.  It's one thing to beat outsider Takeshita with it to prove New Japan Dojo supremacy, but trying to beat Goto with it is outrageous. A 22 year veteran who's had more main events than you've had hot dinners and you're trying to beat him with the rookie special. You don't know you're born, lad. I'd say "You don't know you're born, lad" is an accurate reflection of Goto's demeanour for most of this. Even when he's getting beaten down (and he is beaten quite savagely) the look of contempt on his face whenever he starts to fight back is glorious to behold.

After some initial back and forth, Tsuji's petulant fury dictates a good chunk of the match, and the bit of Tsuji's matches that's usually bit directionless and lacklustre is completely captivating. He is really pissed, he wants to both hurt and embarrass this old bastard and he wrestles like it. Goto on the other hand, is one of the best performers I have ever seen when fighting from underneath. Literally impossible not to root for the man when he is scratching and clawing his way back into the fight.  Dazzling finishing stretch; the crowd getting louder,  high drama, Goto busting out two decades' worth of signature moves and secret weapons, the fire burning in his eyes growing brighter with every one of them. Glorious finish as Tsuji goes for his aforementioned super finisher only to eat a flawlessly timed Muramasa spinning heel kick from Goto. I don't know if Tsuji specifically came up with this side-on spear variant purely because Goto has the most tailor made counter for it or if it was just a happy coincidence, but either way it was beautiful. Of course Goto is two steps ahead of your fancy new finishing move. He worked in the mines, lad. 

I would normally be mad about Tsuji losing here as per my previous complaints about Gedo's booking of Tsuji's entire post-excursion career. However! Goto is an exception. Putting  Goto at 2-1 up in their series and keeping him as a demon for Tsuji who brings out his darker edge is alright in my books. Also Goto can now be like "you know how you said you wouldn't be giving out title shots unless people earned them? How about people who recently pinned the champ in a singles main event?" Oh yes indeed. 

Lot of good stuff there. I did skip six matches on the show, a couple of block matches due to time constraints and the entirely missable undercard tags they use to fill out these nights. I'm not sure why they need a 10 match card and for everyone to work extra matches when the tournament is historically cursed with injury, but it is the way of things and they won't be changing it. The Takeshita match was probably the worst one he'll have in the tournament but it wasn't bad by any means, then the top three matches ranged from very good to excellent. Much better than night one overall. 

Speaking of the injury curse, Shota Umino suffered a concussion on night one and has been pulled from the tournament. Good that they're doing the right thing regarding concussion but man, some poor bugger has to sit out this tournament every year it seems. 

Standings after night 2:

 

 

Edited July 30 by JLM

[JLM]

G1 Climax 36 Night 3 - 19/07/26

A short watch for this tag. Not inspired at all by the undercard block matches, no Takeshita tournament action. However! The main event is probably my most anticipated block match, my boy Yuya Uemura vs Zack Sabre Jr. A technical wrestling sicko's dream and, for me, a chance to see if they're getting behind Yuya this year.

Yuya Uemura vs Zack Sabre Jr. 

In what I'm now realising is an excellent recurring theme of this tournament, this is yet another Young Lion-returning-to-face-a-former-demon scenario. They did this in 2021 when Uemura was still a young boy and they haven't had a singles match since. It's really cool that the top prospects from the new generation each have their own personal veteran final bosses to face as well. ZSJ could not be a better fit for Uemura. Uemura wants to be the best technician in the world, an IWGP World Champ and a G1 Winner, and ZSJ has ticked off all three of those. 

So I loved this, obviously. 25 minutes and for the first 15 it was almost entirely mat wrestling. Yuya off to a great start with his lovely arm drags, winning a few early grappling exchanges to to build his confidence, keeping his holds on when you'd expect Zack to escape  Zack on the other hand was trying to take Uemura to school with his dazzling array of holds. What I loved about this is that they weren't just doing lots of silky chain wrestling to show off. Every time it would end with Uemura foiling an escape and keeping a hold on,, or ZSJ doing a needlessly convoluted and theatrical counter to make a show of how superior he is at this. Some wonderful moments where there would be multiple layers of counters too, where the advantage swings back and forth several times in a couple of second.

Throughout all of this they kept showing that Zack had a deeper bag of tricks but Uemura was staying in it and gradually landing more and more damage on Zack's left arm. There were some reeeally close near falls and a few moments where Uemura looked in danger of being submitted, but he kept hanging in there. sticking to his plan and slowly turning the match in his favour despite at times appearing to be outclassed. They had a great sequence where Uemura got his wrist control as he did in the brilliant Oiwa match ,last year, and for a few exchanges even the master escape artist ZSJ couldn't get out This was highlighted by a bit where he attempted to roll through to escape an arm bar only for Uemura to roll through with him and emerge with the hold still applied. I love that this got a collective gasp from the crowd too.

ZSJ was incredible in this match. As I mentioned before, his subtle selling of injury and exhaustion as a match goes on is some of the best in the business, and in this case the gradual deterioration of the left arm was what made the match. First he's shaking it off, then he's checking it for mobility every so often, then he's pretending it doesn't hurt but is wincing a bit more when holds are applied to it, then later he's brought to his knees by an arm wringer, by the end he's taken the tape off it and is holding it close to his body and fighting the last five without it. As the arm gets worse, Yuya's chances of winning increase. That's the story and ZSJ conveys it so beautifully. 

Another great touch is that early on in the match they are both refusing rope breaks. Any time they're in a hold they will stubbornly look for a way out to show the other that they can escape. This means that the first time each of them DOES go for the ropes it feels impactful. In Yuya's case it's when Zack does that endgame submission escalation bit where he starts wrapping every limb all at the same time and seemingly makes holds up until they tap. Yuya had been hanging with him hold for hold, but against that onslaught it's all he can manage to crawl to the ropes. On Zack's side it's used as another sign that the left arm is letting him down. He tries some escapes he used previously and he can't do it, so he starts reaching for the ropes while trying not to show that he's panicking a little. 

Couple of gear switches towards the end; Zack changing to strikes in frustration that he hasn't been able to pin or submit Uemura in 15. Yuya, on the other hand, smells blood in the water due to the arm injury but no longer beholden to his stated goal of a mat wrestling victory, decides it's time to close this out by any means. The last 5 ends up as a sprint, where Uemura goes all out with speed and high risk moves, while Zack tires to stat alive with only one working arm. Great near fall for Uemura from the High Fly Flow as a nod to Tanahashi, then he is able to score the huge victory with his own version, the frog splash/cross body combo he calls the Lion's Shiner. 

Uemura wins! I was beyond thrilled with this result and almost out of my seat for the finish. Love the two nods to Tanahashi. Another outstanding bit of selling from Zack as well, roaring in pain and clutching the arm after the first kick out, making it very obvious that he didn't have anything else in him after that. On the second splash he's so busy holding his poor arm that he basically concedes and doesn't attempt a kick out. Great choice for the finish, as Uemura submitting ZSJ or pinning him with the Deadbolt are still on the do do list. He found a way to beat ZSJ but he couldn't quite out-wrassle him as he'd hoped.

Great match, best of the tournament so far, don't go getting my hopes up about this actually being Uemura's year! My only concern is that he still doesn't get the reactions I'd like him to. He is popular and the fans were supporting him here but they never go nuts. You've got to book him as the guy if you want people to fully believe it though, and this is a huge step in the right direction. 

 

Edited July 30 by JLM

[JLM]

G1 Climax 36 Night 4  21/07/26

Konosuke Takeshita vs Yuto Ice

Similar to G1s past, this is a great use of Takeshita to battle test the latest up and comer. Great fast paced start to the match as they start fighting during Takeshita's entrance, so they're already well into it by the time the bell rings. It's quickly established that Takeshita is better on the mat, more powerful and generally outclasses Ice in every way buuuut Yuto Ice's striking game gives him a ray of hope. I like that with Ice they show that his stand/up striking game works both on offense and defense; he kicks hard but also has a very sturdy jaw. 

So yeah, he's getting beaten down, but as the match goes on he's able to steer it in the direction he wants and we get a big exchange of haymakers. This was only ten minutes long and that's all it needed. The crowd heat for Yuto starts hot and only escalates as this goes on. Yuto is sympathetic as an underdog when he's getting beaten down, but they've done a great job of showcasing his tenacity. He will go down swinging, he is not intimidated by anyone and he has a silly gimmick but takes the matches very seriously indeed. Really fun second half, with Takeshita making his most common mistake in these tournaments; fighting the opponent on their terms because he still thinks he can outdo them. He usually can, but it has been costly in the past. Yuto eating massive shots but gradually starting to land more and more himself. Smart finish as well, and more evidence of the great long term storytelling and call backs you can do by running this tournament every year. The striking exchange is going back and forth, some big near falls for Ice but Takeshita landing massive forearms and knee smashes as well. After landing the big power drive knee, Takeshita quickly snaps out of the bomb trading madness, locks in a sleeper and secures the stoppage win, visibly shaking his head with a sort of "bloody hell that was getting a bit out of hand" look on his face. 

All of this calls back to his rivalry with Boltin Oleg, where he initially refused to admit he was outmatched in power and bomb-throwing because he so rarely is, ultimately losing to him because of it. Given the chance to run it back, when the match looked to be heading the same way again, he suddenly went for a guillotine choke to diffuse the situation and secure the points. As a result, Takeshita going for the sleeper here really showed Ice a lot of respect, that even after landing one of his biggest shots he still knew this could get away from him and he needed to change tack and get it wrapped up. Great to see Takeshita learning and growing in experience across these G1 runs, and another nice way of having Yutp lose but without giving up or being pinned and quite literally fighting until his last (conscious) breath. 

Excellent post-match. Oleg shook Ice's hand while he was still unconscious. Takeshita tries to wait for him to get up for the handshake. Ice tries to crawl over to accept it but he's completely spent and can't do it, so Takeshita instead starts the crowd chanting "ICE-UH" before leaving. Loving the progression of this, so now even if he loses again, if he's able to stand up and do the handshake face to face against a future opponent it will feel like a step forward for him. 

Short and sweet, an excellent performance from Takeshita to help a New Japan prospect get over despite beating them. Absolutely loving the booking of Yuto Ice so far. 

 

SANADA vs Yota Tsuji

SANADA had been criticized for wearing silly outfits and entrance gear and not taking the G1 seriously enough in previous years. This year he promised he would dress appropriately.

So of course this year he is wearing this:

Spoiler

What made this match an unexpected cracker though,  was that SANADA took it very seriously indeed when it got started. As is the way when someone joins House of Torture, the fans grow frustrated as they fall into the HOT bullshit vortex. SANADA's stock has fallen so far over the past few years, and his back to back losses to kick of this G1 didn't bode well for that improving. Tsuji beat him in five minutes last year and there was little reason to expect anything different tonight. 

However, in the opening exchanges he goes 50/50 with Tsuji and shows that he is fully engaged from minute one. He's against the world champ, he's two losses down and it appears to have woken him up. As a result, the initially Pro-Tsuji crowd ends up completely switching to SANADA and it makes for an electric atmosphere. One of the matches of the tournament so far when I didn't expect anything. Some brilliantly tense moments with prolonged submission holds, some ultra dramatic counters and near misses on their big signature moves, the crowd erupting for every one of them. Fantastic little twist ending too, as the ref is briefly taken out (totally b accident) and SANADA takes the opportunity to kick Tsuji low and hit his finish for the huge upset win.

Really loved the finish. It shows SANADA still has that edge to him and hasn't magically turned pure babyface over night, it delivers a huge win for him while protecting Tsuji, it shows that SANADA is aware that he can just barely hang with Tsuji in his current state and was so ready to cheat. At the same time though, the opportunistic nature of it meant that the overall story of the match was still SANADA taking several steps towards the light. He didn't take the ref out and there was no weapon shot or interference, rather he was fighting for his life and instinctively grabbed the lifeline when it was offered. He cheated but both the fans and even the commentary saw that he'd given his all and had a sort of "well can you blame him?" attitude, especially when Tsuji murdered him so easily last year.

One of the more nuanced kicks to the balls I have seen in pro wrestling and exactly the right ending to this match. I wasn't planning to watch SANADA's other matches but I kind of feel obligated to now. 

 

Shingo Takagi vs Boltin Oleg 

Big time main event for Oleg, who has had such a meteoric rise over the past three years. Here he is trying for his first singles win against one of the greats and to avenge his loss to Takagi in last year's New Japan Cup. The crowd is very hot for both guys but with a slight edge to Boltin. There's such a buzz around him, and this win would take him another big step closer to being a top guy in this company. 

Shingo at this stage of his career is such a joy to watch. Still puffing his chest out, schooling the rookies and throwing bombs against all comers, but crucially now showing that little bit of vulnerability against these modern day next gen hosses. He is full of bravado against Oleg and he is willing to go toe to toe, but it is quite clear that for much of this match he is hanging on for dear life. It's been really cool to follow his entire career, initially coming into Dragon Gate as a near unstoppable colossus and booked like Brock Lesnar, all the way through to this current incarnation as the legend who is just starting to feel time catching up with him in the form of increasingly monstrous young bloods. 

Shingo does this so well that, even though the crowd was buzzing to see Boltin achieve this landmark victory, they couldn't help but get behind Shingo too. He does such an amazing job of showing his increasing levels of panic as the match goes on, leaning on the crowd support, showing real fear when he's caught in a surprise hold, and at times clinging onto the ropes in sheer desperation. It meant that any time he rallied or hit a big move of his own it felt triumphant, highlighted by a gigantic superolex as the big high spot of the match that got a thunderous reaction.

There was no way Oleg was losing this but Shingo still manged to inject so much drama into it and kept the people on the edge of their seats. Excellent finish with Shingo up on the shoulders for  Boltin's Kamikaze finisher, holding onto the top rope one last time as a last ditch effort to stop Oleg landing it. Alas he can delay the inevitable no longer and Oleg gets one of the biggest wins of his short career. 

Very strong main event. They beat the hell out of each other, all of the offense was devastating, I'm a huge fan of  Oleg and the sky is the limit for him. That said,, much like in his match with Takeshita last year, Shingo completely made this. As good as Oleg is, he certainly still needs some carrying, and having him go 19 minutes in a match with a fairly predictable outcome could have gone badly wrong. Good thing Shingo is just the man for that job. 

 

 

Standings after Night 4

A BLOCK

 

• Hirooki Goto (2-1): 4 points
• Konosuke Takeshita (2-1): 4 points
• Oleg Boltin (2-1): 4 points
• Jake Lee (2-1): 4 points
• Ryohei Oiwa (2-1): 4 points
• Yota Tsuji (1-2): 2 points
• Shingo Takagi (1-2): 2 points
• Great-O-Khan (1-2): 2 points
• Yuto-Ice (1-2): 2 points
• SANADA (1-2): 2 points

B Block:

• Aaron Wolf (2-0): 4 points
• Drilla Moloney (2-1): 4 points
• Callum Newman (2-1): 4 points
• OSKAR (2-1): 4 points
• Yuya Uemura (2-1): 4 points
• Ren Narita (2-1): 4 points
• Gabe Kidd (2-1): 4 points
• HENARE (2-1): 4 points
• Zack Sabre Jr. (1-1): 2 points
• Shota Umino: 0 points (Withdrawn due to injury)

Edited August 5 by JLM

[JLM]

G! Climax 36 Night 5 22/07/26

Yuya Uemura vs Drilla Moloney

Honestly wouldn't normally watch Moloney's block matches but made an exception for my boy. This was fine, better than the average Drilla Moloney match thanks to Uemura. Moloney is just not very engaging. He has a decent look, his offense looks great, he bumps well, he goes through the motions of what a capable wrestler does  but is just such a 5/10 guy to watch for me. It was telling that the worst bit of this match BY FAR was the few minutes where he was in full control. Thankfully outside of that we had Yuya's lovely technical wizardry and some really fun back and forth sequences of counters and teases between them. The finishing sequence was genuinely exciting but it was rubbish that Moloney completely stopped selling his arm.  I get the whole running-on-adrenaline/fighting spirit closing stretch and I will let a lot slide, but for Yuya his whole gameplan in every single match is crippling the opponent's left arm. You have to sell it against Yuya, it feels almost rude when the opponent forgets. Anyway, yeah for a 15+ Drilla Moloney match I thought Yuya made it better than expected, buuuut all of my pleasantly surprised good will evaporated when Yuya lost! What are we doing here guys. This had better be a glorious Heat Storm comeback story that sees him go all the way to the finals He beats Zack Sabre Jr. but then loses this? Boo I say. 

 

Zack Sabre Jr. vs Callum Newman

An all English main event!! Two foreign aces of New Japan, both now former IWGP heavyweight champs and the added bonus of ZSJ vs Opponent-with-inured-limb. This was very good. Immediately had a nasty tone to it, lot of shit talking from both sides and a bit of extra venom on every bit of offense.. Callum Newman has ticked off a number of ZSJ' achievements in record time but is yet to beat him. ZSJ wants to put the youngster back in his place. It is established very early that they don't like each other at all. The ring side brawling, which is often very boring filler in a New Japan main event, was actually very good. Newman has an injured arm and is trying to get an early edge any way he can, taking Zack out of his element and evening the playing field a bit. They both smashed each other into the guard rail with with serious impact, Newman took the opportunity to establish himself as a real prick, Zack got uncharacteristically pissed off and thrown off his game.

The rest of the match was then mostly Zack trying to ground Newman, destroy the dodgy shoulder and keep things at his pace. Newman on the other hand was trying to survive and land any offense he could muster in explosive bursts. Any time he's able to scramble he can land a few big shots, but then ZSJ is able to do some of his lovely wrestling that he does and cool him down again. It is always dicey for a bit when Newman is forcing a higher tempo though, and Zach does look vulnerable in those moments.  I like how this rhythm tied into the finish, where they're both going at a blistering pace which has generally favoured Newman, ZSJ tries to counter it with his silky smooth chain wrestling for loads of great near falls, but the resourceful and sneaky Newman is able to pull it out in the scramble with a quick schoolboy and handful of tights. Made perfect sense as the entire match had been Zach in control but Newman threatening to steal it through whatever means he could. It further established Newman as a prick and also gave him another big win to brag about. Zach dropping a quick "that's why I hate Essex" on his way to the back made me laugh. 

Really good main event and a great dynamic between the two opponents, both in terms of in-ring style and their naturally abrasive personalities. 

 Enjoyable main event and Yuya got something decent out of Drilla Moloney only to lose and make me sad. Heat Storm win streak for the rest of the block though. I believe. That's it for night 5. No Takeshita tournament action and nothing else too inspiring on the card. Not to worry though, the night 6 card has a stellar looking top three matches:

Konosuke Takeshita vs Boltin Oleg, Ryohei Oiwa vs Yuto...........Aisssssss and Shingo Takagi vs Yota Tsuji. Tremendous. 

Night 5 standings:

 

NJPW G1 Climax 36 standings —

A Block:

• Hirooki Goto (2-1): 4 points
• Konosuke Takeshita (2-1): 4 points
• Oleg Boltin (2-1): 4 points
• Jake Lee (2-1): 4 points
• Ryohei Oiwa (2-1): 4 points
• Yota Tsuji (1-2): 2 points
• Shingo Takagi (1-2): 2 points
• Great-O-Khan (1-2): 2 points
• Yuto-Ice (1-2): 2 points
• SANADA (1-2): 2 points

 

B Block:

• Callum Newman (3-1): 6 points
• HENARE (3-1): 6 points
• Drilla Moloney (3-1): 6 points
• Gabe Kidd (3-1): 6 points
• Aaron Wolf (2-1): 4 points
• Ren Narita (2-1): 4 points
• OSKAR (2-2): 4 points
• Yuya Uemura (2-2): 4 points
• Zack Sabre Jr. (1-2): 2 points
• Shota Umino: 0 points

 

Edited August 5 by JLM

[JLM]

G1 Climax 36 Night 6 - 25/07/26

 

Boltin Oleg vs Konosuke Takeshita

Another instalment in this excellent series of slobberknockers between these two units who are custom built to face each other. Oleg 2-1 up in their series going into this match. They charge each other like two rampaging bulls at the first bell and that sets the tone. There is a brief moment where Takeshita tries to establish control and keep Oleg in a hold, but once Oleg is free they are screaming at each other and throwing gigantic haymakers for the rest of the match.

 I mentioned before with Tsuji and Takeshita that they both try to rein in their own madness against each other and it makes the first half of the match a bit awkward. Oleg and Takeshita do the complete opposite. They both bring each other up to 11, lean into their worst excesses and create a glorious spectacle of carnage. Takeshita being a bit inconsistent with his selling and favouring explosions over storytelling doesn't matter at all in this feud because it's a superhuman monster showdown. They both get a fighting spirit power up against each other and they will swing until one of them runs out. To get the very best out of Takeshita he needs  an opponent who can weave a story around all of his other phenomenal tools (like Goto) OR someone who can match his level of balls to the wall madness, (like Will Ospreay). Oleg is the latter. 

What's also great is that they're evenly matched but do have different advantages and disadvantages. Oleg has more raw power and strength, Takeshita is more athletic and has better strikes, but in all of those cases it's not by much. It's believable for Takeshita to out-power Oleg as well, and Oleg has surprising mobility and speed for his size when he wants to, particularly with his excellent standing shotgun dropkick. 

I won't go through every spot here, but some highlights included Oleg catching a high flying knee in mid air and somehow manoeuvring Takeshita onto his shoulders for an F5, which even for him was an astonishing feat of strength. He also teased the multiple powerbomb spot, only to deadlift Takeshita off the mat and turn him onto the shoulders again for the Kamikaze. At one point he also launched Takeshita half way across the ring with a scoop slam. They did a great call back to Takeshita's guillotine choke victory over Oleg too, this time leading to a massive pop from the crowd as Oleg was able to power out of it 

Excellent red hot closing stretch, with Takeshita throwing everything he had left at the big man. Another call back to their previous matches towards the end as well, with Takeshita hitting a quick sequence of big hits in a row to put Oleg down when he was threatening to hulk up and turn the tide again. 

Another cracker from these two, and  a lovely little post-match moment as they're both unable to stand but roll close enough to each other to do a little fist bump. would not be surprised if they're doing this for the World Title within the next few years. L

 

Ryohei Oiwa vs Yuto Ice 

This was tremendous! These two cannot stand each other, bitter rivals with polar opposite philosophies. Oiwa the sensible technician and serious pro wrestler, Ice the scrappy brawler with the silly gimmick. Oiwa thinks Ice is a disgrace, Ice thinks Oiwa is a total buzz kill. Loved the little back story of Oiwa winning their previous encounter with a flash pin, Ice claiming that it can't have been satisfying to win like that, Oiwa maintaining that a win via proper wrestling is the MOST satisfying way to win. 

Fantastic to see Oiwa so fired up in this match, as the main criticism of him as a performer is that he lacks a bit of spark and personality. Yuto brings out his mean side and it's a joy to watch, bordering on outright heel at times trying to bully the plucky underdog, and utterly livid whenever Ice manages to gain the upper hand. The crowd brawling at the start made sense and was much more chaotic and vicious than usual, then once they got in the ring it was a heated and venomous fight until the end. I loved the story of Oiwa being so disgusted by Ice that he completely abandoned his gameplan and got drawn into Yuto's world. Oiwa is similar to Uemura, where every match he has the same steady gameplan of working the body part to set up his finish. This guy pisses him off so much that he does pretty much everything but that.

The opening crowd brawl itself was initiated by Oiwa, like it's not enough to out-wrestle and submit him, he wants to beat him it at his own game as well to complete the humiliation. Another great moment later where the ref goes to check on Ice for another stoppage and Oiwa won't let him as he doesn't want the knock out win. He doesn't want to give Ice another heroic defeat, he wants to pin him or, ideally, make him tap. Both such great ways to illustrate how Oiwa has lost his head; essentially turning down 2 points to try and get the submission win he'd predicted, and giving away his technical wrestling advantage seconds into the match by initiating a messy brawl and never really snapping out of it. Another great moment was Oiwa winning one exchange with a headbutt out of nowhere. This could not be more out of character for Oiwa, and he followed it up with a flurry of five more headbutts. Completely unhinged performance from one of the most level headed wrestlers on the roster, all brought out of him by Yuto Ice, who at this point is largely held together by kinesio tape.

Phenomenal closing sequence with Ice all fired up, Oiwa desperately trying to get his submission and then swinging wildly and repeatedly with his discus lariat finisher, the match slipping through his fingers as Ice starts to find crucial last moment dodges and big strikes his own. This all culminates in Oiwa going for the most wild and telegraphed swing of the match, getting caught with a massive head kick and then Ice's Cruella running boot to the face for the loss. 

Might be my favourite match of the tournament so far, it was so nasty and heated, this tournament is making a star of Yuto Ice and it was brilliant to see this side of Oiwa. Another superb post match bit too, Ice reaching out a hand over Oiwa's prone body as if he's going to offer the hand shake, then thrusting that hand into the referee's so it can be raised, then a quick middle finger to Oiwa on the way out. Top shithousery.

 

Shingo Takagi vs Yota Tsuji

A very important main event for Tsuji here, as his pre-tournament goal was to beat the former IWGP champions in the block, but has so far lost to two of them. He also ends up with that big chip on his shoulder once again because this crowd is 100% behind Shingo. As a result, this match ends up being one long pissing contest between them and is a lot of fun for it. Two big egos, stablemates but not really friends, fighting over some serious bragging rights. Once again I thought Shingo was the star of the show in this match, using his veteran wiles to wind up Tsuji and try and force him into mistakes. I can't stress enough how much I enjoy crafty old man Shingo trying to school these young upstarts. Tsuji has the youth and more fire power, but Shingo's craftiness is able to even things out and keep the match on a knife edge for the duration. Could not call who was going to win it and it ended up being a case of whoever happened to land the last big hit. In the end it was Tsuji, who hit the best looking version of his new finisher I've seen so far, also showcasing how good it is as an out-of-nowhere big match ender. Really strong main event, Shingo is easily one of my MVPs of the tournament so far. 

 

Quality set of matches there. I was looking forward to all three, though as much as I love Oiwa and have been won over by Yuto Ice, I was still pleasantly surprised that their match ended up being my favourite. 

 

Standings after Night 6: 

 

A Block:

• Konosuke Takeshita (3-1): 6 points
• Hirooki Goto (2-2): 4 points
• Oleg Boltin (2-2): 4 points
• Jake Lee (2-2): 4 points
• Ryohei Oiwa (2-2): 4 points
• Yota Tsuji (2-2): 4 points
• Great-O-Khan (2-2): 4 points
• Yuto-Ice (2-2): 4 points
• SANADA (2-2): 4 points
• Shingo Takagi (1-3): 2 points

 

B Block:

• Callum Newman (3-1): 6 points
• HENARE (3-1): 6 points
• Drilla Moloney (3-1): 6 points
• Gabe Kidd (3-1): 6 points
• Aaron Wolf (2-1): 4 points
• Ren Narita (2-1): 4 points
• OSKAR (2-2): 4 points
• Yuya Uemura (2-2): 4 points
• Zack Sabre Jr. (1-2): 2 points
• Shota Umino: 0 points  (withdrew due to injury and forfeited all remaining matches)

Edited August 9 by JLM

[JLM]

G1 Climax 36 Night 7 26/07/26

Slim pickings on this show for me. Drilla Moloney vs Callum Newman got a good Cagematch score but I am so bored by the very thought of it that I didn't put it on. I have to imagine Gabe Kidd vs Zack Sabre Jr. was pretty good as well, but it is on the lower end of ZSJ matches I want to see in this bracket and there's already too much to watch. No Takeshita singles match on this show AND Yuya Uermura's match was cancelled due to Shota Umino's withdrawal from the tournament. 

 

G1 Climax 36 Night 8 29/07/26 

SANADA vs Ryohei Oiwa

Intrigued by this one due to the ongoing "Is SANADA becoming a proper wrestler again?" story, and Oiwa being the perfect opponent for that story. I loved this. Oiwa knows he fucked up against Yuto Ice by deviating from his gameplan and getting drawn into a brawl. As a result, this is the most on task he has ever been. Headlock, cravate, bulldog choke, sleeper. I think that is everything he does in this match. He is The Grip and he is here to prove it. SANADA is crafty though, not only working the knee to try and take away Oiwa's more powerful base, but also finding every possibly counter-measure you could think of to dance around his opponent's extremely rigid strategy.

Such lovely storytelling in this match, with highlights including Oiwa STILL sticking to his trusty headlock when they're fighting at ringside, only for SANADA to counter with a big knee breaker onto the guard rail. A perfect snapshot of their respective gameplans, Oiwa's at times self-destructive bull-headedness and SANADA's willingness to get his hands a little dirty even when he's trying to play nice. A lovely follow up to this later, where SANADA tries the knee breaker as a counter in the ring, but this time Oiwa goes from a side headlock into a bulldog choke as he's being lifted, takes the knee breaker and then sits down, seamlessly taking the weight off his injured leg and adding more onto SANADA's neck. Beautiful stuff. 

SANADA was brilliant throughout this too, showing increasing desperation as it went on and finding all sorts of interesting and varied ways to get out of the same repeating situations. The fans were behind him too, but I also loved the finish, as Oiwa is rewarded for getting his shit together and playing to his strengths, eventually forcing the tap through sheer attrition when Sanada is out of energy, morale and ideas. 

Some honest to god Wrasslin' right there. 

 

 

Konosuke Takeshita vs Great O-Khan

This was surprisingly good last time they met in the G1. Guess they weren't confident in pulling it off again and went for nothing but shortcuts here instead. It's in Takeshita's home prefecture so he already has the people, but just to make sure they had Khan drag him down to the ring mid-beating. Takeshita has shown in previous G1s that he is quite good in this position, particularly when he's had to deal with House of Torture bullshit. He can be a surprisingly sympathetic underdog as long as you make it believably by having him injured ahead of time. Unfortunately this set up also meant we had Khan in control doing his plodding thing for several minutes, which was dull. Ultimately his hubris and Takeshita's fire combined to turn the tide. Takeshita made sure the finishing sequence was exciting and action packed because he can do that in his sleep, and the hometown crowd helped, but overall this was still pretty average. Still, two more points for Takeshita!

 

 

Hirooki Goto vs Shingo Takagi

Had to watch the uncle battle. Nether of them particularly old as wrestling veterans go (Shingo is a young looking  43 and even old grouch Goto is only 47) but it's funny how much older Goto appears than Takagi. It's not just his appearance but everything about him. His whole demeanour, the way he sells, he conveys it all so well that it looks like every year he's had in this sport has taken ten years out of him. Thankfully though, it's not in that actually-knackered way like a Naito, he's just really bloody good. So good in fact, that even though nothing would make me happier than Uemura or Oiwa taking the big step forward and winning this thing, I’d take a Goto win and fight anyone who disagreed. In fairness, Shingo has been so excellent this tournament that I wouldn't begrudge him the win either.

Anyway, these two go way back, though their most recent big battle was particularly notable, Shingo losing to Goto in a failed IWGP World Title challenge. At the time, Goto said Shingo didn't have a family to fight for and that was the difference between them. Shingo has since transitioned into grumpy veteran status along with Goto and has married Stardom's Natsupoi, so is well on his way to becoming a family man. Will this power up be enough to overcome his old rival?

What I loved about this is how seriously they both took it and how you could tell immediately they see each other as peers and close rivals. None of Shingo's clowning of Oiwa or Goto's disdain for Tsuji. Two members of the old guard having a proper New Japan heavyweight battle. The story here is that Shingo is able to overwhelm and dominate with combinations of offense but Goto's individual moments of grit and desperation hit hard enough to keep them even. Goto also does a very crafty move early on, snuffing out Shingo's match start adrenaline rush with a sneaky Russian leg sweep into the turnbuckles. They do such a great job of highlighting this, Shingo not only selling the injury but throwing a bit of a tantrum at ringside, throwing a chair into the ring and needing to gather himself before he continues. He's annoyed that he got outplayed but also annoyed that Goto knows this has landed and the neck is now a weakness. As a result, any time Goto is able to fight back and halt Shingo's momentum it's with something targeting the neck. 

The crowd is initially 100% pro-Goto, but over the course of this turn in favour of Shingo. He's doing everything he can and putting in a great performance, and even thought he's on top for long spells he is fighting through this injury against an opponent he really really needs to beat. 

Really great stuff, not one of the all time classics between these two but perfectly pitched for where they're both at career-wise, and I don't think it's possible for these two to have a duffer against each other. Would love either of them to sneak out of the blocks s they've both been a joy to watch this tournament. 

 

 

Yota Tsuji vs Yuto..............Aissssssssssssssssssssss

Ooh boy. This one is going to split opinion but I thought it was outstanding. There has been nothing quite like it in the tournament and it will be one of the most memorable matches of the event whether it's your cup of tea or not. 

Brilliant atmosphere at the start and a particularly great shot of Ice literally licking his lips with anticipation as the champ comes down to the ring. They're stablemates but there is nothing friendly about the match. Tsuji is here to let Ice know they are at opposite ends of the pecking order, Ice is here to tell Tsuji otherwise. They convey this through the medium of chops. 10 SOLID MINUTES of chops. I've seen people say they were trying/failing to copy Kobashi vs Sasaki but this isn't what they were going for at all. Hundreds of chops are thrown but every single one is from Tsuji. Ice just takes and takes and takes and takes. He invites Tsuji to do this at the start, gets chopped all around the building, showing endless defiance. It's not two hosses doing Frye/Takayama or Kobashi/Sasaki, it's the upstart trying to show the champ what he's made of and force his respect, and the champ defending both his spot and his pride. 

As part of this tournament's tremendously successful project to get Ice over as a top singles guy this does a ton, obviously. Tsuji's overhand chops are some of the most brutal in the business, leaving vivid purple hand prints on every opponent. To tank 100 of these takes some serious balls. On Tsuji's side though, it let him show so much more than he has in any of his matches aside from maybe Goto. At first he's almost laughing off Ice's challenge, then he's pissed off that he's still standing up to him, then he's thinking "I can't believe I've been dragged into this shit", then it's "OIK now I really can't believe we're still doing this" then "errrrm is this guy actually unkillable?". Tsuji is at his best when he's got a chip on his shoulder and leaning into his sadistic side, and this match was almost entirely that. What was also brilliant though, was Tsuji selling both the increasing pain and wear on his hand, but also the energy he was spending. Moments where the chops lost their impact and he started to flag getting brilliant crowd reactions, then bursts of adrenaline and sheer rage powering through for him to muster another 10 chops for this lunatic he's fighting. 

I've seen criticism of the match asking why Tsuji would keep doing it when it isn't working and he's wearing himself out, but I thought they conveyed that brilliantly. Tsuji can't let him have this and change strategy. He's the champ and this guy has invited him to break him with his famous chops. He can't give up. He is also confident he will break him. Watching that confidence gradually erode as the exhaustion builds, Ice's defiance remains and the match actually starts to slip away from Tsuji is the story of the match and for me it works wonderfully. 

Ice gradually becoming more and more of a threat makes for a breath taking final third. Tsuji eventually IS forced to concede that he's not beating Ice at this game and starts to turn it on. He unleashes the fury and puts together the big flurries that win him big matches, but has he left it too late? Ice is still landing big blows, he still won't stay down and Tsuji has fucking KNACKERED himself trying to chop the man to pieces in the first half. 

Amazing call from Walker Stewart on commentary here, drawing on Ice's nickname/motivation for fighting, chasing the pro wrestling high. As a purple chested ice refuses to die yet again and Tsuji is in real peril: "the Pro Wrestling High has turned Yuto Ice into a Pro Wrestling Zombie"! Exactly! 

Loved the finish, Tsuji hitting his Fire Blaster super finisher with the last of his strength, unable to make the cover. Red Shoes begins the double count, Tsuji is just barely able to answer it for the knock out victory. 

Another creative K.O. loss for Ice and yet another huge victory for him despite the loss on paper. As I say though, I think this match did wonders for Tsuji as well. His matches still often don't have the emotional connection and heat that a world champion's main events should have, but this one had it in spades. Yuto challenging him for this title somewhere down the line is a classic in the making. 

One of the matches of the tournament and one that will stick with me. Very very very long strike exchanges have been done and honestly I often have a limited tolerance for them, but for me this was in service of telling a great story that built to a beautiful ending. It was a big win for both guys, the people loved it, I did as well. 

 

Night 8 made up for Night 7 quite comfortably I'd say. 

Standings after Night 8:

A Block:

• Konosuke Takeshita (4-1): 8 points
• Yota Tsuji (3-2): 6 points
• Ryohei Oiwa (3-2): 6 points
• Oleg Boltin (3-2): 6 points
• Hirooki Goto (2-3): 4 points
• Jake Lee (2-3): 4 points
• Great-O-Khan (2-3): 4 points
• Yuto-Ice (2-3): 4 points
• SANADA (2-3): 4 points
• Shingo Takagi (2-3): 4 points

 

B Block:

• HENARE (4-1): 8 points
• Drilla Moloney (4-1): 8 points
• Gabe Kidd (4-1): 8 points
• Callum Newman (3-2): 6 points
• OSKAR (3-2): 6 points
• Aaron Wolf (2-2): 4 points
• Ren Narita (2-2): 4 points
• Yuya Uemura (2-2): 4 points
• Zack Sabre Jr. (1-4): 2 points
• Shota Umino: 0 points  (withdrew due to injury and forfeited all remaining matches)

 

Edited August 12 by JLM